Slidable jaw wrench with automatically rotating latch lock



Oct. 4, 1955 E. P. BUGGE SLIDABLE JAW WRENCH WITH AUTOMATICALLY ROTATING LATCH LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet l [PL/N6 50665 INVENTOR.

E. P. BUGGE Oct 4, 1955 SLIDABLE JAW WRENCH WITH AUTOMATICALLY ROTATING LATCH LOCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 19, 1953 EQL/NG f? Eli 66E INVENTOR.

QTTOENEV United States Patent thee 2 ,7 1 9,448 Patented Oct. 4, 1955 SLIDABLE JAW WRENCH WITH AUTOMATICALLY ROTATING LATCH LOCK Erling P. Bugge, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application January 19, 1953, Serial No. 332,031

6 Claims. (Cl. 81--145) This invention relates to wrenches and is particularly useful in end wrenches.

In using an ordinary adjustable end wrench, considerable time is Wasted in adjusting the wrench to nuts and bolt heads of various sizes on which his necessary to use the wrench.

it is an object of this invention to provide a wrench in which a minimum of time is required in changing the adjustment of the jaw opening of the same.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing object as well as further objects and advantages will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of the invention as preferably embodied in an adjustable end wrench.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary edge elevational view of the head of the wrench shown in Fig. l and is taken in the direction of the arrow 2. I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the head of the wrench shown in Fig. 1 With portions thereof broken away, the latter portions being sectioned on line 33 in Fig. 2. This view shows 'the slidable jaw of said wrench released from the adjusting latch and in its outermost position.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 and illustrates the slidable jaw locked in an intermediate adjusted position by said latch.

5 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken on the line 5-S of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the sliding jaw of said wrench.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the ratchet latch of said wrench.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the arcuately notched latch rotor of the invention.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the head and fixed jaw of said wrench with the slidable jaw removed therefrom and showing the construction of the slide chamher for receiving said slidable jaw.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the invention is there shown as embodied in an adjustable end wrench it} including a head 11 and handle 12, which unites with said head through a tapered neck 13.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 9 the wrench head 11 has a fixed jaw 14. Adjoining the inner edge of the gripping face 15 of said jaw, the head 11 is provided with a jaw supporting edge 16, the latter being connected with said jaw face with a beveled edge 17, and terminating at its outer end with an outside head edge 18 which is angled relative to the supporting edge 16, at less than a right angle. Formed in the head 11 on an axis equidistant from side faces thereof and extending into said head from edge 18 parallel with the edge 16, is a bore 19 which constitutes a slide chamber.

A cut is also formed in the head 11 equidistant from opposite side faces thereof, which cut is substantially less in width than the diameter of said bore, said out providing a threat 20 which connects the slide chamber 19 with the head edges 17 and 18. The cut which forms the throat 20 is extended into the head 11 on the opposite side of the bore 19 to form a latch recess 25. Said out also forms a rack receiving channel 27 which lies adjacent to the recess 25 and on the same side of the slide chamber bore 19. The recess 25 has a corridor 27 which extends therefrom to and opens on the head edge 18, as well as connecting with a short bore made in edge 18 to form a latch control button and spring pocket 28.

A bore 30 is made in the wrench neck 13 at right angles to the plane of the wrench, said bore breaking into the recess 25' and terminating at the far wall face of said recess 25. The bore 30 is provided with a counterbore 31; the inner end 32 of which lies in the plane of the near wall surface of the recess 25.

Formed. in the head 11 in the area of throat 20 and adjacent the edge 13 and on an axis parallel with bore 30 is a bore 4%) having a counter-bore 41 in its outer end, the portion of said bore below throat 20 being provided with internal threads.

The portion of the head 11 which closes the inner end of bore 19 constitutes a wall 42, this wall having a boss 43 which is disposed concentric with the slide chamber 19 and has mounted centrally therein a spring guide pin 44.

The Wrench 10 also includes a slidable jaw 50 having a cylindrical slide member 51, which is integrally connected with said jaw by a web 52 the latter having a notch 53 which extends upwardly therein between lower portions of the jaw 50 and the slide member 51. The slide member 51 has a coaxial bore 54 extending downwardly from its upper end, said member being also provided with a ratchet rack 55, which extends from said member in the opposite direction from said web 52. "i he slide member 51 is formed to slidably fit the slide chamber 19 while the web 52 slidably fits the recess 25 and the rack 55 slides within the rack receiving channel 26 and corridor 27.

The jaw 50 is thus easily slidable on the head 11 when the member 51 is inserted in the slide chamber 19. A coiled spring fits into the bore 54 and surrounds the pin 44 when the jaw 50 is assembled on the head 11. The jaw is thus held in assembled relation with head 11 by a cap screw 57 which is inserted into the bore 40 and screwed into the threads at the lower end of the latter until the head of the screw is snugly received in the counter-bore 41. The bore 40 is also located so that the screw 57, when thus inserted in place, is received into the notch 53, thereby halting the jaw 50 in its outermost position when the bottom of said notch engages said screw.

Before the jaw is thus assembled with the head 11, a rotor 60 having an arcuate notch 61 formed in a peripheral portion thereof, is inserted into the bore 30 in which it is freely rotatable.

A plug 62 formed to have a press fit with the counterbore 31 and having a flat inner face, is now pressed in said counter-bore and the outer end of said plug is finished to partake of the shape of the neck 13 of the wrench 10.

Before the jaw 50 is assembled with the wrench head 11, and while the slide chamber 19 is empty as shown in Fig. 9, a latch 63 is inserted into the latch recess 25 so as to be retained in place as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 by the assembly of the jaw 50 with the head 11. The latch 63 is flat so as to just slidably fit within the recess 25 and has a semi-cylindrical boss 64 which extends into the arcuate notch 61 of the rotor 60. Latch 63 has a serrated face 65 which is disposed substantially parallel with the serrated rack 55. Latch 63 also has a slender neck which extends therefrom along the corridor 27 and has formed integrally with its outer end a latch push button 71 which slidably fits within the push button pocket 28. Trapped within said pocket beneath push button 71 is a light leaf spring 72 which yieldably returns latch 63 to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 4 whenever push button 71 is not being pressed inwardly.

The operation of the wrench 10 to adjust it to nuts or bolt heads of different sizes is very simple. To adjust it to a bolt head, for instance, when the jaws lie on opposite sides of said bolt head the jaws 14 and 50 are manually pressed together until they fit the bolt head.

When thus pressing the jaws 14 and 50 together, latch 63 is left free to respond to the spring 72 the elfect of which is to pull on the latch 63 so that this rotates the rotor 60 thereby moving said latch in toward the rack 55 on the jaw 50. The serrated teeth 65 on the latch thus intermesh with the ratchet rack 55 and prevent outward movement of the slidable jaw 50 when pressure is put on the latter as by rotating the wrench 10 with said bolt head between the jaws of said wrench.

When changing from a bolt head of one size to a bolt head of a larger size, the adjustment of the wrench is etfected by first pressing button 71 to depress this into pocket 28 which rotates the rotor 60 and shifts the latch 63 out of engagement with the ratchet rack 55 as shown in Fig. 3. The slidable jaw 50 is thus free to respond to the spring 56 which snaps this jaw into its outermost position as shown in Fig. 3. From this point, the opening between the jaws is reduced in the manner above described causing it to fit the particular bolt head in question, by putting the latter between the jaws and then pressing the jaws together until they fit the bolt head and are automatically locked in adjusted position by the latch 63, as shown in Fig. 4.

The claims are:

1. In a quickly adjustable wrench, the combination of: a relatively fiat wrench head, the bounding surfaces of which include approximately parallel side faces, a jaw supporting edge and an outside edge sharply angled relative to said supporting edge; a fixed jaw provided on said head in the plane of said head to project therefrom at the opposite end of said supporting edge from said outside edge, a slide chamber being formed in said head, said chamber extending inwardly from said outside edge parallel with said supporting edge and being connected with said supporting edge by a throt-like slot restricted in width, a latch recess being formed in said head opening from said chamber in opposite relation with said slot, a cylindrical rotor bore also being formed in said head, said bore connecting radially with said recess; a slidable jaw having a slide member slidably fitting in said chamber and connected to said jaw by a web which extends through said slot; a. spring urging said slidable jaw away from said fixed jaw; a stop for limiting outward movement of said slidable jaw; a rotor journalling in said bore, a peripheral portion of said rotor extending into said recess, there being a circular concavity formed in said portion of the rotor; a latch disposed in said latch recess and having a cylindrical inner surface which fits said concavity to rotatively relate said latch and said rotor on an axis eccentric to said rotor; spring means urging said latch to rotate said rotor to bring said latch into jamming relation with said slide member to hold said slidable jaw against increasing the spacing between said jaws; and cooperating friction means on said latch and member to prevent slippage therebetween.

2. A combination as in claim 1 in which said latch and member are provided with inter-meshing teeth for preventing slippage therebetween; and a button provided on said latch and located in said outside edge of said head for manually shifting said latch inwardly and thus releasing said slidable jaw from said latch.

3. In a quickly adjustable wrench, the combination of: a wrench head having a fixed jaw; an adjustable jaw slidably mounted on said head in clamping relation with said fixed jaw; a rotor rotatably mounted on said head; a latch pivotally related to said rotor on an axis eccentric to said rotor; a stop limiting the separation of said jaws; a spring urging said adjustable jaw toward and against said stop; and spring means urging said latch to rotate said rotor and shift said latch by an oblique movement into engagement with said adjustable jaw with the latter in an adjusted position, to lock said jaw against further separation from said fixed jaw.

4. A combination as in claim 3 in which meeting surfaces of said adjustable jaw and said latch are provided with matching serrations.

5. A combination as in claim 4 in which said adjustable jaw, said spring, said latch, said spring means, and said rotor lie in the same plane, said head having a recess formed therein shaped to receive and confine said elements in this operative relation aforesaid with said head and with each other.

6. A combination as in claim 5 in which said rotor comprises a short section of a cylindrical shaft with a cylindrical concavity formed in a peripheral portion thereof of an eccentric axis exterior to said rotor; and a convex cylindrical boss provided on said latch which matches with and journals in said concavity, whereby, when said spring means shifts said latch to rotate said rotor and bring said latch obliquely into latching relation with said adjustable jaw, said rotor and latch form a substantial composite metal mass interposed between said adjustable jaw and said wrench head, in which said rotor journals, thereby preventing further separation of said fixed jaw and said adjustable jaw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,058,838 Allyn Apr. 15, 1913 1,459,583 Edstrom June 19, 1923 2,015,895 Hagbo Oct. 1, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,000,497 France Oct. 17, 1951 

